Are you ready for ads on your computer?

By now we’re all used to advertisements on our smart phones and tablets – it’s the tradeoff we accept for using free apps instead of premium versions. Yet one of the side effects of Microsoft’s making Windows 8 for both tablets and personal computers is that those ad-supported apps will make their way onto our laptops and desktops.

Yep, ads on your PC.

Reporting from the company’s Build conference in Anaheim, Calif., PCWorld notes that Windows 8 will be Microsoft’s first PC operating system with a built-in advertising platform. Advertisements would be worked into Windows 8 apps themselves, like they are in smart-phone and tablet apps.

In a harsh soliloquy on the Metro design’s perceived lack of personality, PC Magazine’s John C. Dvorak makes an astute observation: Windows 8’s rectangular tile interface “looks like it wants to blast ads at you.” But really, that’s just conjecture – and the tiles are all customizable by the user.

Can't you just imagine little ads sprinkled in there?

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company isn’t yet sharing anything further about advertising in Windows 8.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Microsoft restricted apps from surfacing advertisements on the Metro interface. However, it also wouldn’t surprise me if ads do end up there. I can’t imagine Windows 8 users would be happy.

But one thing is all but certain: Some Windows 8 apps will incorporate advertisements. Which means your Windows 8 laptop could have ads.